Russell Crowe, Terri Irwin Finally Dating?

Truth rating: 0

By
Andrew Shuster | 12:00 am, December 29, 2018

(Getty Images)

One of this week’s tabloids claims Russell Crowe and Terri Irwin are finally dating after years of being close friends. Gossip Cop can debunk the romance rumors. The relationship between the longtime pals remains platonic.

A headline in the latest issue of Star reads, “Terri & Russell’s Happily Ever After.” The tabloids have been wrongly linking the actor and the Australian zoo owner for years, but according to the magazine, they’ve finally become a couple. “Russell is such an important person in Terri’s life. He’s been a real rock,” says the magazine’s “source,” who further contends “a lot of people” have wanted to see them end up together, including Irwin’s 20-year-old daughter, Bindi.

The outlet’s alleged insider goes on to say Crowe and Irwin recently had “their first official date.” “They’ve always hung out as friends but this time, there was something different,” adds the seemingly nonexistent tipster.

Here’s what’s really happening. Earlier this month, Irwin joked about the years of romance rumors surrounding her and Crowe during an appearance on the Australian talk show “The Sunday Project.” When asked why the tabloids are always linking her to the actor, Irwin quipped, “I am in love with him, I have to admit it. I am desperately and totally in love.”

Star references Irwin’s comments to back up its story, but leaves out how she made it clear that she was joking. The wildlife conservationist went on to say on the program that Crowe isn’t aware of her feelings, but she was “calling him right after the show” to declare her love. Irwin then dropped the act and added in all seriousness, “I do really, really think the world of him. He loves wildlife, he is very considerate about helping what we are doing and is a good guy.”

The tabloid either has trouble picking up on sarcasm or is simply trying to dupe its readers by using Irwin’s quip out of context. In addition to it being quite apparent that the zoo owner was only kidding, a rep qualified to speak on her behalf confirms that she’s not romantically involved with Crowe. Despite what the magazine’s anonymous and untraceable “source” claims, Irwin’s own spokesperson is going on the record to dismiss the dating rumors.

It’s worth noting, Gossip Cop has been correcting similar storylines since 2016. Shortly after we debunked a New Idea article about Crowe and Irwin planning a wedding, the actor himself cleared up the bogus story. Crowe wrote on Twitter, “Last week @NewIdeamagazine said I was getting married, now @WomansDay saying the weddings off. I have such a dramatic life in bs magazines.”

In 2017, Crowe called out Woman’s Day Australia for publishing a phony cover story featuring the headline, “Terri & Russell At Breaking Point: Secrets, Lies & Betrayal.” Crowe tweeted a screenshot of the cover story, and added, “Um… wtf… am I living in a parallel universe? Why keep doing this @WomansDayAus? @TerriIrwin & I have publicly called your bs. R U ok?” These latest dating rumors, which were inspired by jokes Irwin made in an interview, are equally baseless.